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The vibe of today’s post was inspired in part by Foxygen’s song entitled San Francisco on their album We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic. However, true to form, rather than looking much like the girl in the video, I think I’m more a reflection of the male singer. Besides that, I hoped to channel the great era that brought the musical revolution which erupted from Haight Ashbury in the 60s. I might be more like Fred from Scooby Doo, but luckily, 70s in coming in, right?

I spent all marveling walking from Chinatown over to Haight Ashbury and Golden Park, marveling over the quaint Victorian houses along the way. At one point, I found a park with a wonderful view, shown below. I was in awe of the fortune of my find. Little did I know, I had only stumbled onto the typical tourist path and was taking pictures of none other than the Painted Ladies, a la Full House fame. Nevertheless, it was still a nice surprise. My blisters the next day were not.

Given the nature of the street, this post is going to make a few winding digressions that reflected my morning walk through the area towards Lombard Street and eventually Fisherman’s Wharf:

1. The chocolate motherland. This was both so exciting and totally jarring. Downtown Disney has a matching structure, which I did not realize paid homage to this megalith. Thus, it was like going home getting a sea salt caramel hot chocolate 1,000 miles away, but realizing that Disney and Ghiradelli’s love child was no more than just that, a child, of Ghirardelli Square was a big surprise.

2. With the on-going housing crisis in San Francisco, now is probably not the time to get choosy, but when I saw this place, shadowed by a noble birch (haha I have no idea what kind of tree it is), a modern cousin (and I would argue first cousin) of the tree house tucked at the top of hill. In it I could not help but see my future castle, a dominion unmatched! Too bad I have student loans and an unpaid internship…

3. An outfit reflection: beret in, socks out. Berets have been on the Vogue radar for a bit (trumping beanies). What aren’t on the radar are orthopedic shoes, so I would seriously suggest not wearing off-white socks with off-white platform shoes (what was I thinking). Also, I have never really done a scarf with strapless before, but when tied like a girl scout kerchief, it kind of looks like straps and it can make for a cool silhouette.

Welcome to the Eccentric Glamour link-up, a forum specially designed to get together and showcase forgotten, yet fabulous articles in our closets! I’m excited to bring you these vintage-inspired shots from Sutro Baths (and the surrounding park in San Francisco). The views from the hike are pretty stunning, so I’ll let them speak for themself… kind of like my outfit. 😉

Sutro Baths (pictured in the background below) have an interesting, if slightly tragic history (after the collapse of a specialized railroad line-now hiking trail), which you can read more about here. But trust me, they were all the rage in the late 19th century. I was kind of obsessed with the fairy tale splendor of the surrounding trees…

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Please confine posts to those which showcase some spectacular article of clothing. It doesn’t have to be crazy, but just a bit in line with our theme of “Eccentric Glamour” (although choosing one half or the other of that mantra will also suffice). However, if you choose to post, please provide a link back to the Eccentric Glamour link-up somewhere in your post.

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When I was in High School, I was unabashedly obsessed with the Beat Movement (a fact that will reveal itself in force as the week progresses). With this in mind, there was no way to go to San Francisco without making a veritable pilgrimage to Big Sur. Worthy of an entire love letter- hiking guide- philosophical discussion by Kerouac, the area has continued to inspire in the title track of Death Cab’s latest album (not for much longer!) Narrow Stairs. With all the hubbub, I definitely wanted to check it out, and I was not disappointed. Sun meets the sea meets the mountains and the valley, all in one compendium of sunkissed luxuriance. The weather was perfect, the temperature was perfect, and the sights were stunning. Big Sur is like having everything in one place. Even for someone one as urban-loving as myself, there are a bunch of cute stops for upscale dining in graphically designed perfection you can opt for over more granola choices.

My favorite stop while we were driving through was the Henry Miller Library. Though best known for his salacious novels Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn, he also wrote a novel on Big Sur. So nestled in the mountain, a standing homage to his admiration, the library is a peaceful stop on the short path through Big Sur, but certainly one worth making. They have a lot of area-relevant materials, good classic literature, and free coffee (though you might want to make a donation) you can drink on their open wood porch.

As for dressing for Big Sur, that was kind of a challenge. In The Dharma Bums, Kerouac talks about a few days he spent hiking up and down Big Sur, so I wanted to come ready to trek, but on the other hand, I also didn’t know if we’d eat out since it was a day trip. To straddle both, I wore a tunic dress with shorts under it and a cardigan. Sometimes the tunic looked a little too long (learning from mistakes) but on the whole, I think it was good for what I wanted to do, and I managed to avoid sweat stains on the top where it was tucked in (probably something to look out for).

I’m excited to show you some of the pictures from my California adventure! Some of you may have noticed my three week hiatus, a period over which I was decidedly not learning how to photoshop (so sorry for that attempt yesterday, but it got the point across with a little overzealous sponging). While I had the best intentions of keeping up the blog over Spring Break, I found myself wandering around San Francisco and working on short stories instead, and I couldn’t help but let the mood take me. However, amidst my aesthetic stupor I managed to squeeze in a few field trips about which I couldn’t be more excited. Enter Napa.

One of my best friends from high school just moved out to the area to do “science” at a winery. It seems only natural if one travels 500 miles across the country to dial up everyone in the immediate vicinity, so entirely because of the pressing weight of the social duties falling upon me, I called him to set up a wine tasting together. We had a wonderful day, punctuating tastings with a cute little French patisserie where I had a delicious sea salt caramel macaroon (and could really call myself bourgeoisie). It also let me embrace some Edgar Allen Poe American Romanticism, so here’s my Mysterious Macabre Villainess, naturally standing in a wine cellar (soon to be the home of a someone buried alive?).

I wanted to look classy, modern, yet understated (don’t want to look like you’re trying at a wine tasting), so I paired a couple of subdued pinks with ostrich feathers to bring just enough glam. I tried these high tops for a bit of modern nonchalance. We mixed in my first In-and-Out experience for some real casual elegance at the end of the day. I think Taylor deserves a few well-deserved snaps.